Acute Effects of Post-Exercise Hyperoxia on Recovery in Cycling

This study examines whether exposition to hyperbaric oxygen after a road-race simulation can help competitive cyclists recover and perform better the following day. Hyperbaric oxygen, which involves breathing oxygen inside a pressurized chamber, is used as a recovery method in elite and professional sport. Its effectiveness, however, remains controversial: despite this widespread use, there is a lack of solid scientific evidence that a single HBO session after strenuous endurance exercise actually improves recovery, or that clarifies how the amount of oxygen exposure influences any benefit. The study includes healthy male road cyclists between 18 and 40 years of age who compete at the national level in Belgium. After completing a fatiguing cycling session, each participant is randomly assigned to one of four groups receiving different levels of oxygen exposure during recovery. Two groups breathe oxygen under increased pressure inside a chamber at either 2.5 or 1.4 atmospheres absolute. A third group breathes oxygen at normal pressure. The fourth group receives a sham condition that reproduces the treatment setting without active oxygen exposure. The study is double-blind, meaning that neither the participants nor the researchers assessing the outcomes know which condition each participant receives. The main goal is to determine whether a single session of post-exercise HBO improves next-day endurance performance, and whether higher oxygen exposure produces greater effects. The researchers also collect blood samples and physiological measurements to better understand how the body recovers.